A Perfect World
by ClockworkScales
Summary: The Doctor's keeping something inside the TARDIS. Rose is suspicious and goes inside to find out. Ten/Rose.


**A Perfect World**

Rose peered up from her bed, having just woken up from her slumber. She noticed The Doctor walking right through her bedroom and into the TARDIS. The TARDIS was parked next to her drawers which were decorated with old clothes hanging off the knobs.

'Wotcha doin'?' Rose asked, startled at how groggy her voice was. She coughed.

'Oh, um, nothing,' The Doctor said, poking a head out of the big blue box.

Rose threw the covers off herself. 'Liar,' she said.

'Yep, that's me, The Liar,' The Doctor exclaimed gleefully, 'I'm also a Doctor!'

His head disappeared inside and Rose crept over to the TARDIS and peeked inside.

The Doctor was carrying a large, oval shaped mirror with a silver frame which looked big enough for somebody to walk through. He levered it against the TARDIS' wall and stared right at her.

'Nice jammies, by the way!'

Rose looked down at pink skied, star strewn pyjamas and flung herself back into her room. She grabbed the jeans she wore yesterday off the drawers, and from inside the drawers a pair of knickers, a bra and a blue shirt before going into the bathroom to have a shower.

When Rose came back into her room, she noticed that The Doctor wasn't there and the door on the TARDIS was shut tight.

'Mum!' she called out into the hallway, 'Has The Doctor gone out somewhere?'

Jackie's voice replied, 'What you asking me for? Isn't he in there with you?'

Rose pushed on the TARDIS door. It didn't budge. Of course, Rose thought, she was such an idiot! The Doctor would obviously be inside.

'Actually,' Rose called, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, 'maybe he's in the TARDIS.'

'Well there you go,' Jackie yelled back, 'Now, lunch is in 5 minutes so don't sneak in any trips to France like last time, or I'll know.'

The Doctor stormed out of the TARDIS and bumped into Rose.

'Ah! Sorry!' he said quickly.

They stood together, silent.

'Wha's the matter?' Rose asked, observing the Doctor's face.

'N-nothing.' The Doctor said hurriedly.

'Liar.' Rose smirked. The Doctor smiled at her for a moment and then his face became serious, 'Whatever you do. WHAT. EVER. YOU. DO.' The Doctor said forcefully, 'Do not go in there! Understand? DO. NOT. GO. IN. THERE.'

'Don't get your knickers in a knot,' Rose was bewildered, 'Why can't I?'

'Don't ask questions. Just, promise you won't go in there. And don't touch anything. Promise you won't touch anything.'

Rose looked at The Doctor's desperate face, his shaking hands, and his wild face.

'Lunch is in five minutes.'

'Promise?' The Doctor said sternly.

Rose looked at The Doctor, 'Promise.'

The Doctor flung himself out of the room and Rose could hear the taps running and The Doctor as he cleaned his face taking big breaths.

Despite what she said, Rose stepped inside of the TARDIS. She had to know what had bothered The Doctor so much. She looked around the TARDIS, looking for any sort of change, but it was exactly the same.

…Except for a mirror propped against the wall.

'Are you what The Doctor was scared off?' Rose asked, half-laughing. This had to be some sort of joke.

There was nothing wrong with the mirror. It was perfectly normal.

At least it looked like it.

What did it do? Did it reflect you all wrong like those wavy mirrors that could make you look fat or really short? Did it show you the future?

'Is this like in Harry Potter with The Mirror of Erised? The one that shows you your heart's desires?' she asked the mirror, even though it didn't answer.

She stationed herself in front of the mirror and looked at it, completely disappointed. It was just a mirror. There was herself reflected back, completely normal.

The water had stopped running and Rose turned around; The Doctor was coming back! What would she do when he found her in here?

Rose turned back towards the mirror and noticed that part of the glass had fogged up. She bent nearer and looked at where a word had been written on the glass. It said:

Rose.

'What? But that's my name!' Rose stammered, her heart pounding. 'If The Doctor sees this…'

She pushed her arm against the glass and rubbed against it so the word came off.

'Good as new,' she thought cheerfully. But when went to pull her arm away… it wouldn't come off.

Rose furrowed her eyebrows, 'Hey, mirror, don't be like that. We're friends aren't we? I'm sorry I got rid of your message and everyfink but I have to get back.'

The mirror began to pull her inside. It was cold; freezing even and there was a strange noise coming from the mirror, like a vacuum cleaner trying to suck up a sock. Rose freaked. It was eating her!

Rose began to scream, and yell hoping that The Doctor would hear her.

'Doctor! Doctor!' she shrieked, 'The mirror!'

And she was swallowed up.

She felt light headed.

Lost.

Confused.

Where was she?

There was nothing but blackness.

That is, until her vision went into focus.

Rose was inside the TARDIS and The Doctor was in front of her, wearing a black suit for some reason. Then, suddenly, images, memories flew into her mind and everything made sense. She grinned at The Doctor as he fiddled with the TARDIS controls, 'Where do you want to go for our honeymoon?' he asked, pronouncing honeymoon with his technical voice.

Rose grinned and threw her head back, veil fluttering to the floor, 'what about…'

'The beach?' The Doctor suggested and then added, 'an empty one.'

Rose shook her head.

'What about… a dank old mansion.' Rose said quickly.

The Doctor's mouth flew open, 'Dank? That doesn't sound all that nice, what about-'

'You said I could choose.' Rose reminded him, 'besides, it won't be all that bad. I promise.'

The Doctor smiled.

'It's just I've always wanted to have my honeymoon somewhere like that. A house with so much history behind it and yet it's still so glamorous. I think it's romantic.'

'Okey dokey!' The Doctor cried and flicked the final switches of the TARDIS controls, 'Here tonight at honeymoon-central we have Rose and The Doctor going to the old outskirts of Scotland, to an antique, abandoned mansion. Romantic destination one for Rose Tyler.'

Rose giggled as the TARDIS began to rumble.

There was a flash.

They were inside a room with moonlight shining through a shuttered window. There was a rich, fuzzy carpet and with a flick of The Doctor's sonic screwdriver there was a fire roaring in the fireplace. The double-bed was draped with red sheets and there was a grandfather clock in the corner, broken. Completely stopped.

'Is this romantic enough for you?' The Doctor asked. Rose smiled and hugged The Doctor, 'Oh, it's beautiful! Thank you so much.'

The Doctor's boyish grin was interrupted by Rose's kiss. Rose felt like there was a fire glowing inside of her, lighting up her insides. It was perfect.

The Doctor and Rose kissed each other and began to take each other's clothes off. Rose threw The Doctor's suit jacket onto the grandfather clock and chuckled.

'This too much for a Time Lord?'

The Doctor shut his eyes for a moment, as if he were in deep thought and opened an eye, peeking, 'Oh, believe me, it's quite alright.'

Rose laughed and before she knew it… everything was black and cold again, but this was only for a split second. The sucking noise had started and stopped and she was standing in front of the mirror again, back in reality.

Looking in the mirror, she saw that The Doctor was behind her with an unreadable face.

When Rose looked at herself in the mirror she saw puffy eyes and wet cheeks.

None of it was real.

'Are you alright?' The Doctor asked, his voice dripping with concern. Rose nodded numbly and her voice cracked. She looked like she was going to say something else but then she said, with a shaking voice:

'You're not mad at me?'

The Doctor shook his head, 'I only told you not to go in there for your own good. It's dangerous, I could have lost you. But luckily, you were within an arm's reach inside.'

'What did it look like?' Rose croaked.

'What do you mean?' The Doctor asked.

'What did you see?'

The Doctor stared into the mirror and shook his head, 'I saw a lie.'

Rose looked up at him, and The Doctor continued, 'what you saw, and what I saw wasn't real. It was a dream, a perfect dream... Almost too perfect. It's impossible. If you stayed in there long enough I would have lost you. I wouldn't have been able to reach you. I would never let that happen.'

'Yeah, I'd miss lunch.' Rose joked.

The Doctor stared at her and then went over to the mirror, picking it up and throwing it against the floor. It shattered. Shards of glass tinkled and glowed for a moment before dying.

'Someone must have been so upset that they made this portal and jumped inside to make themselves happy. So scared of suicide that they made sure they knew what was coming, and it was good.'

The Doctor sighed.

It must have been living for awhile…' he mumbled, 'Rose,' he said, stepping over the shards of glass, 'Please remember, that what you saw…' he took a deep breath, 'It won't happen, because, what the mirror didn't know was our real minds, our conscience, it knew only our wants. You could say it's an Id incarnate. There are flaws in the dream that can't work out. And deep down, I'm sure you know that.'

Rose nodded and another tear trickled down her cheek. She bit her lip. The Doctor abruptly swooped her up in her arms; a hug.

They stood like that for awhile, lost in their thoughts and the warmth until they heard Jackie yelling from outside the TARDIS; it was lunch-time.

Not wanting to be lectured about being late they bounded out of the TARDIS and made their way out of Rose's room and down the corridor.

'What did you see, by the way?' The Doctor whispered to Rose. She laughed.

'I saw a lie, that's what I saw.'

Rose smiled at The Doctor.

'Don't worry; I'm perfectly okay with how things are now. In fact, I'm glad. I would rather be here than be living some stupid fantasy anyway.'

The Doctor chortled.

'Me too, Rose Tyler, me too.'

Rose had left to have a shower.

The Doctor shut the door of the TARDIS and stared at the glimmering mirror, pointing his sonic screwdriver at it, hearing it whirr, 'what are you hiding?' The Doctor asked.

The mirror only reflected The Doctor's frustration.

'The townspeople reported a number of people missing… and you were in the middle of all of it,' The Doctor accused, 'so what are you hiding!?'

Nothing happened.

The Doctor held his head in his hands. The mirror held an incredible power. It looked like an ordinary mirror but The Doctor could feel its power, its potential. It held enough power to send somebody to another dimension… A new world.

Absentmindedly, The Doctor rested a hand on the mirror. It was cold. It didn't feel very lifelike but suddenly the glass dissolved and The Doctor's hand was stuck in the mirror. He pulled but he couldn't get his hand out. He considered getting out his sonic screwdriver but he didn't.

The Doctor stared at the mirror and took a deep breath, 'Okay then! Let's see what you've got to offer.'

He stepped into the mirror.

When he walked in he noticed that he was in The TARDIS, but he wasn't the only Doctor there… An exact image of himself was inside the TARDIS and Rose was next to him. Rose was wearing a white dress, a wedding dress at that and The Doctor was wearing a black suit. They were both grinning, they hearts filled with light and joy. Identical rings on their left hands.

The real Doctor walked up to them and waved a hand in front of their faces but after a few moments, he yelped as his real self was merged with this new Doctor's, and new memories were burnt into his brain; when he proposed to Rose on top of an elevator which was about to plummet into the earth's core. The rush of exhilaration when he cut the wires and they shot up to the earth's surface and into the TARDIS where they kissed passionately underneath a dying sun… When he said 'I do' at the local park, when he…

The Doctor was beaming and he lifted Rose up in his arms and kicked open the TARDIS door revealing an empty beach, the beach where Rose first confessed her feelings to The Doctor.

The Doctor laughed and Rose squealed with delight as they ran into the ocean, getting their outfits ruined. This was a chance to start again.

There was a flash.

The Doctor and Rose were in the TARDIS and Rose was nursing a baby girl in her arms, planting kisses on her head, singing a lullaby. The Doctor was fiddling with the TARDIS's controls saying to his wife, 'Rose, we should probably get back home.'

Rose sighed and nodded, and walked outside the TARDIS into a small apartment.

Perfectly domestic. Perfectly normal. The sunlight shone through the windows of a perfectly normal apartment.

A 5 year-old boy ran into The Doctor's open arms, 'Dad! I read about this place in a book!'

'Did you really?' The Doctor beamed, 'What's it called?'

The Doctor ruffled the boy's blonde hair, 'It's called Narnia, Dad! Can we go to Narnia!? Please?'

The Doctor laughed and considered this.

Narnia wasn't a real place. At least, it hadn't been until just recently when everything there had burned away due to the sun collapsing. But he did have a time machine.

Rose came back from putting the dark-haired girl into her crib and bent down, 'Maybe we'll go there for your birthday,' she grinned broadly, 'how about that?'

The Doctor put the boy down and he lit up, a human night-light.

'But there's a problem.' Rose said suddenly.

The boy's eyes grew wide, 'What?'

'We won't be getting there through a wardrobe.' Rose bit her lip in mock-concern.

Ah, yes, that's true.' The Doctor exclaimed, 'Are you sure you still want to go?'

'Of course I do!'

The Doctor smirked and suddenly, the Time Lord part of his brain kicked in.

This isn't real, it told him.

This is just another world; it's not the real world.

It's not the world you want to be in.

Part of his brain stammered, yes, yes this is where I want to be! But deep down, he knew he had to go back.

'Sorry, Rose,' The Doctor said, and he pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

Rose chuckled and said, 'Well, I guess it's a holiday.'

'What?' The Doctor asked, confused.

'You don't normally let the kids play with your sonic screwdriver.'

The Doctor smiled sadly, 'Oh don't worry, I'm not.'

There was a whirring noise as The Doctor put the sonic screwdriver in motion. He was wrenched back into reality and was stationed in front of the mirror again.

He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off his face and the tears glowing in his eyes. 'All those people must have become trapped in this universe… This… Perfect world,' The Doctor gritted his teeth together, 'It's almost too perfect… It's impossible.'

The Doctor and Rose sat next to each other at the table whilst Jackie served steaming hot pasta with a cream sauce.

'Wow, mum, it looks delish,' Rose sniffed in the vapour. The Doctor poked at the bacon and the mushrooms in the sauce.

'Hey, what's wrong with you?' Jackie asked, putting her hands on her hips, 'I'll have you know that's quality pasta right there.'

'Hey, mum,' Rose hissed, 'leave him alone, why don't ya?'

'Just letting him know that it's not going to grow teeth and eat him,' Jackie said.

'Oh, no I know. I've had this before in Italy,' The Doctor said, startling both Jackie and Rose. He took a bite and added, 'But this is much better stuff! Like you said, quality pasta!' before Jackie could accuse him of insulting her cooking.

'Yeah, mum, thanks, it's beautiful, really.' Rose assured her. The Doctor nodded.

They ate in silence.

Jackie spoke up, 'What's wrong with you both?'

They looked up from their meals and exchanged glances with each other.

'Rose, don't think I didn't noticed, I'm your mother. But you've got tear marks on your face and your nose and your eyes are still kinda red. And, Doctor, you're being rather quiet, and spacing out a bit. Did somebody die?'

Rose laughed, 'No, mum, don't worry, something quite the opposite.'

'You went away in the TARDIS, before you came here didn't you?' Jackie accused.

'No, not really,' Rose said quickly.

'Oh, don't tell me.' Jackie said in disbelief, 'you're getting married aren't you!?'

The Doctor choked on his food and coughed violently.

'No, mum we're not getting married,' Rose said quickly, having finished her pasta. She put the bowl in the dishwasher, 'besides, I wouldn't be able to unless you gave me permission and I know you'd never do that.'

The Doctor drank some water and could breathe again. He shook his head as if to force all future possible food-choking experiences away.

The Doctor quickly ate the remaining bits of pasta in his bowl and went into the kitchen to put it in the dishwasher. Rose bent down as he placed it in neatly.

'Was the pasta a bit too much for you?' Rose whispered in his ear, grinning.

'Oh, very,' The Doctor said seriously, 'There was too much cream.'


End file.
